Fastener for latching a door



Nov. 22, 1966 A. w. AHLGREN FASTENER FOR LATCHING A DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 1, 1964 To Q}? was! ifgv'em A7 42... 4, W A 8% (A wrorzmsvw Nov. 22, 1966 A. w. AHLGREN FASTENER FOR LATCHING A DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 1964 MVSMT QM. CA hivem United States PatentO 3,287,044 7 FASTENER FOR LATCHING A DOOR v Axel W. Ahlgren, Rockford, 111., assi'gnor to Arnerock Corporation, Rockford, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 1, 1964, Ser. No. 371,677 1 Claim. (Cl. 29217) This invention relates to a fastener for holding a door releasably with a spring action in a closed position across an opening in a cabinet and including a catch mountable on the frame adjacent the closed position of the door for latching engagement with a strike secured to the inner face of the door. The invention has particular reference to a fastener in which the strike is formed with a hole for receiving a screw or the like for securing the strike in position for engagement with the catch.

The primary object of the present invention is to facilitate the mounting of such a strike quickly and easily in precise alinement with the catch.

A more specific object is to provide a novel fastener having a simple marking prong offset from the screw hole and operable upon engagement with the door to indicate a position for the screw in which the strike will be held in precise alinement with the catch.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing portions of a cabinet frame and door equipped with a fastener embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the catch.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective View of the catch and the strike.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the catch and the strike in latching engagement.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to part of FIG. 1 with the parts in different positions and showing one step in the installation of the fastener.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the parts in different positions and showing a subsequent step.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the marked door with the positions of the strike and the strike screw prior to assembly shown in broken lines.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the assembled strike.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary end view of the fastener shown in FIG. 1 with the door shown in section.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a fastener 10 for holding a door 11 releasably in a closed position across an opening in a cabinet 12. In general, the fastener comprises a strike 13, which herein is mounted on the inner face of the door, and a catch 14 secured to a member of the cabinet frame such as a shelf (not shown) or the frame strip 15 defining one side 17 of the cabinet opening. The strike yieldably engages the catch when the door is closed thereby to latch the door in the closed position while permitting the door to be pulled open from the outside.

In the present instance, the catch 14 is a unitary piece of molded plastic material such as that shown as Delrin and includes a body portion of U-shaped cross-section formed by two spaced and generally parallel side walls 18 integrally joined to the opposite side edges of a bottom wall 19, by means of which the catch is mounted on the frame, and integrally connected across their rear edges by an arcuate section 20 forming the rear wall of the catch. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the side walls are semi-cylindrical in shape with their curved side surfaces 21 forming the opposite sides of the body.

When the catch is mounted on the frame strip 15, the bottom wall is disposed against the side 17 thereof with the open front end of the catch body facing outwardly toward the door 11. Formed in the bottom wall is an elongated slot 22 having a closed front end 23 and opening rearwardly through the rear edge of the bottom wall. An opening 24 substantially larger than the slot is formed in the rear wall in alinement with the slot to admit the head 25 of a screw 27 through the rear wall.

With this arrangement, the screw 27 may be hammered part way into the frame strip 15 in the selectedposition as shown in FIG. 5 preparatory to mounting the catch 14. Then the latter is slid rearwardly or inwardly along the strip and over the projecting end of the screw to slide the bottom wall 19 under the screw head and bring the screw shank close to or against the front end 23 of the slot. In this condition, only a few turns of a screw driver (not shown) are required to tighten the screw against the bottom Wall and clamp the latter against the frame strip. A plurality of elongated teeth 28 are formed on the underside of the catch to become embedded in the frame strip and anchor the catch thereon.

The illustrative strike 13 is a generally U-shaped spring plate having a fiat crosspiece 29 for engaging the inner face of the door 11 with the opposite end portions of the plate projecting inwardly from the door for engagement with the catch 14. These end portions constitute resiliently flexible spring fingers which receive the catch body between them and then grip the body to hold the door closed. For this purpose, the fingers are curved at 30 to follow the contours of the corresponding side surfaces 21 of the catch body, curving first outwardly to extend around the semi-cylindrical surfaces of the side walls and then inwardly behind these surfaces to form a restriction through which the body must pass as the door is latched and unlatched. The free end portions 31 of the fingers are bent at 32 to diverge beyond the restriction and facilitate the smooth entry of the body into the seat defined between the fingers.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 8, the strike 13 is held in place on the door 11 by means of a headed fastener 33, preferably a screw, driven into the door through a hole 34 in the crosspiece 29 midway between the spring fingers 30. When the screw head 35 is tightened against the crosspiece, two lugs 37 on the back of the strike are embedded in the door on opposite sides of the screw to anchor the strike against turning about the screw in service use.

In accordance with the present invention, the fastener 10 is constructed in a novel manner to facilitate the mounting of the strike 13 on the door 11 quickly and easily in precise alinement with the catch 14 on the frame strip 15. For this purpose, an outwardly projecting marking spur or prong 38 is formed on the crosspiece 29 on one side of the hole 34 and is centered on a line perpendicular to the crosspiece and passing through the center of the hole. Moreover, the side surfaces 21 of the catch are elongated in a direction parallel to this perpendicular line so as to engage the strike fingers 30 in two different positions offset in parallel from each other.

Thus, with the catch 14 mounted on the frame strip 15 in a selected position, the strike 13 may be placed on the catch in a marking position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 so that the marking prong 38 engages and marks the inner face of the door 11 as indicated at 38 (FIG. 7) when the door is closed against the strike, thereby indicating a position for the screw 33 in which the strike will be held in precise alinement with the catch. Of course, the final or latching position of the strike will be ofiset from the marking position longitudinally of the catch body and laterally of the strike after the screw is driven at the marked spot, and the direction and amount of offset of the strike are the same as the direction and amount of offset of the prong from the center of the hole edge of the holeinto a plane perpendicular to the cross-- piece.

The marking position of the strike 13 on the, catch 14 is selected with the eventual offset in mind. Preferably, the strike is placed on the catch adjacent the free end of the body, the end opposite the bottom wall 19, with the prong 38 on the side of the hole 34 closest to the bottom wall (see FIG. 6). at the point indicated, the strike will be positioned for engagement with the catch body somewhat closed to the bottom wall as shown in FIG. 1. It will be seen, however, that the initial position of the strike is not critical because the catch body is made long enough to receive the strike in several marking positions and corresponding latching positions;

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the novel construction of the fastener 10 makes it possible to indicate a position for the strike screw 33 in which the strike 13 will be precisely alined with the catch 14. The elongation of the strike-engaging surfaces 21 f the catch adapts the latter for engagement with the strike both in a selected marking position and in an offset latching position and thereby compensates for the offset of the marking pront from the center of the hole.

I claim as my invention:

In a fastener for latching a door releasably in a closed position adjacent a frame member, the combination of, a catch body having a front end and two laterally spaced side surfaces, means for mounting said body on said frame member with said side surfaces extending away from the frame member and with said front end paralleling the closed position of said door, a generally When the screw 33 is driven- V 4 U-shaped strike having a crosspiece extending across said front end and formed with a center hole for reeciving a fastener, said strike also having a pair of resiliently flex ible spring fingers projecting from opposite ends of said crosspiece along opposite sides of saidbody, said side:

surfaces and said spring fingers being shaped to fit snugly together whereby said fingers frictionally grip said body and hold said strike in a preselected marking position thereon, and a marking prong on said crosspiece. extending away from the latter on the side thereof opposite said front end for marking engagement with said door when the latter is closed, said prong being generally alined with the center of said hole longitudinally of said side surfaces, and said side. surfaces and said'front end 'being substantially longer than the width of said crosspiece and said fingers thereby to engage said strike in the selected marking position and also in an offset latching position in which said hole is generally centered on 1 the area of the door marked by said prong.

References Cited by the Examiner a EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

I. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

